Automatic hand-level.



1. l. n. BRISTOL. AUTOMATIC HAND LEVEL.

APPUCATIDN FILED MAl I3. 1916.

Patented Nov. 2l, 1916.:

WIT/VESSES cross head are adapted to be ...all 'n JOHN I. D. BRISTOL, OFCHAPPAQUA, NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC HAND-LEVEL.

i como?.

Application filed May 13, 1916.

To all yHtom '1,' z5 11mg/ concern Be it known that I, JonN l. D.lnns'roi., a citizen ot' theI United States, and a resident ot`Chappaqua, in the county otl ll'estchester and State ot' New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Automatic llandlievel, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and-exact description.

rlhis invention relates to instruments o'll precision and has particularreference to leveling,r devices.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an instrument of thecharacter indicated that is adapted especiallyl'or hand operation, thesame beiney easily manipulated and possessed of sutlicient accuracy forordinary purposes, such as laying' out l-awns, gardens, landscapes,tennis courts, or in approainiating the altitude of distant objects orlocations.

nother object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap, andreliable device as stated which may be held in the operators hand whilemaking the observation, either Without or in connection with a windshield to increase the accuracy or reliability of the observation.

With the foregoingr and other objects in View the invention consists inthe arrangement and combination of, parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact detailsof construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose ofillustrating.;- a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to theaccompanying.;` drawings, in which like reference characters designatethe saine parts in the several views, and in which` Figure 1 is a`perspective view indicating the;y instrument standing erect upon ahorizontal support; and Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of thesaine.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, at 10 l show/ahorizontal beam or rod 'having a central vertical pintle 11 swiveled inthe upper end of the pendulum rod 12 and cross head 13. While the beammay turn around the yverticalaXis of the pintle 11, it is held frominclination with respect to the axis ol the pintle and rod 12. At theends of the cross `head are formed trunnions 1l, whereby the pendulumand supportedupon aV horizontal axis which is arranged practicallytransverse or perpendicular to the vertical plane of the aXis of thebeam'. lVhile Specification of Letters Patent.

`may support the cross head serial no. 97,295.

l show the pintle 1l projecting downwardly into the open upper end ofthe pendulum rod, it is obvious that these parts might be reversedwithout departingl from the spirit o the invention. although .l preferthe usage as indicated in the drawings because of the longer bearingvpint'le and the pendulum rod with a correspending` increase ot accuracyof the instrument.

At the opposite ends ot' the beam 10 and 4prelerably substantiallyequally distant from the center ot' the pintle, are arranged a pair ot'sighting devices l5 and lll, each provided with a long and narrowhorizont-al slit 15 and lo respectively. These slits are disposed atequal distances above the horizontal axis of the beam. ln other words,they are so arranged as to lie precisely in the saine horizontal planeperpendicular to the axis oi the pendulum. The sighting devices l5 andlli are rigidly; connected to the ends otl the beam, and hence thedevice is not likely to become distorted or out of order.

The pendulum bob 12 being of considerable mass and at the lower end of acomparatively long'rod 12, the beam 10 will always be lie-l dsubstantially level, .irrespective of the particular means iorsupporting the cross head. l? or ordinary use, therefore, l` with theends or points of the trunnions held between the thumb and linger ot onehand, the hand being,T either below the b am Vwith the thumb and fingerheld upwardly, or the hand may be inverted and held above the beam outof range of the sighting,y devices. "W hen held as stated,

lthe pendulum willalways gravitate so as to depend in a vertical line,and thereby the beam l0 will be held horizontally, and liliewise sincethe beain will ordinarily be set to extend, in a direction perpendicularto the axis of the cross head, the slits 15 and 16 will lie practicallyin a horizontal plane. rlhe operator then with his eye close to themember 15 looksthrough the slit 15 and then through the slit 1G,bringing the wire 17 in range with. some definite distant object, Whoseelevation will thus be determined to be the saine as the height of theeye of the observer.

lf'll'ien the level is to be supported upon a stationary support, as'upon a stone, stump, post, or the like, a holder 18, suchy as indifcated, is employed. rl`his holder is in the nature of an open sided tubehaving a wide lllaten'ted hoy'. L61, 1911i.

provided between the,

or flared base to increase the stability thereof, and to provideoscillating space for the pendulum rod protected from the wind. Theupper end of the holder is notched at 19 on opposite sides to constitutebearings for the trunnions 14. It is also notched at 20 at the rear toprovide free tilting movement of the beam with respect to the holder.The holder may serve also as a. means for supporting the device in thehand of the operator taking the observation in windy weather.

The -device is very simple of construction, and yet is of a veryaccurate nature when used as set forth herein and for the purposesstated. It is to be noted also that the instrument is so constructedthat in taking it apart, it packs neatly within the wind shield. rlhesighting devices are designed to take in a much wider range than theordinary level with cross wires, and this range of vision can also begreatly extended by a slight lateral movement of the horizontal beam 10in either direction. As another lieldof usefulness for the instrument itmay be noted that it is Well adapted for ascertaining the increase ordecrease of elevation in road buildingor the like. For this or similarpurposes, it is erpedient to use a supporting rod of Wood or the likewhich will elevate l the 'horizontal beam or rod l() to any desiredprising a cross head, means known extent, depending upon the height ofthe operator from the ground to the sighting slits. From this point thena wire or cord may be run from the bottom of the supporting rod alongthe line ot operation to say fifty feet or any other suitable knowndistance, and then by a simple calculation the rise or fall ot theroadway may be easily determined.

I claim:

1. The herein described hand level comto pivotally support the crosshead for rotation around a horizontal axis, a bea-m pivoted upon thecross head for movement with respect thereto around a vertical axis, apendulum rigidly connected to the cross head, the connecting meansbetween the cross head and the beam serving to maintain the beam in aplane perpendicular to the pendulum, and sighting devices connected tothe ends of the beam, substantially as set forth.

2. ln 'an' automatic hand level, the coinbination of a cross head, meansto pivotally support'l the same for movement around a horizontal axis, apendulum rigidly connected to the cross head, a beam connected to thecross head and held thereby and by the pendulum ina horizontal planeperpendicular to the pendulum, ,and a pair ot sighting members connectedto the ends ot' the beam, each sighting member being provided with ahorizontal transverse slit, both slits being at the same elevation abovethe axis of the beam, and a wire extending from one end tothe other otone of said slits.

3. ln an automatic hand level, the chmbination ot' an open sided tubularupright holder having at its upper end a pair ot notches arranged onopposite sides andforming seats, a cross head having trun-nions seatedin said seats, a. pendulum connected rigidly to the cross headandswinging freely within the holder, a beanrprovitled with a pintleprojecting downwardly through the cross head and into the pendulumwhereby the beam is held from tilting movement with respect to thependulum but is free to rotate around the axis thereof and sightingdevices at the ends of the beam, substantially as set forth.

JNQ. D. BRISTOL. Nitnessesz J-. l/V. Hindus, M. l. WHITNEY.

